Stakes and Champions
by kbox
Summary: In the high stakes and glamorous world of horse racing, Elizabeth Bennet and William Darcy must sort out their differences in order to achieve the most prestigious prize in thoroughbred racing, a victory in the Kentucky Derby. Chapter 5 Up!
1. Chapter 1

"Jog him a half mile and then let him go at the pole. Let's see what he can do over eight furlongs."

Elizabeth Bennet glanced at her father, exasperation written plainly on her face as she tried to control the fidgeting colt beneath her.

"Just do the best you can, Liz. He's got to learn to settle down at some point and earn his keep. I noted his workout on the training board, so it should be pretty clear out there," added Mr. Bennet as he let go of the bridle.

With a nod, Elizabeth lightly urged the colt forward toward the gap in the track railing, while silently wishing she was back at the barn mucking stalls. _Anywhere but here_, she thought.

A small smile graced her face once they stepped onto the dirt track and she noticed that her father had been right. Not a horse or rider was in sight. The track was practically hers. The smile was suddenly replaced by a frown when she realized that no one was on the track because everyone had decided the view was better from the rail. "Doesn't anyone have anything better to do?" she whispered to herself. The chestnut colt flicked his ears back at the sound of Elizabeth's voice and started into a high stepping trot at the sight of the numerous trainers, exercise riders, and grooms leaning against the outside rail, no doubt thinking they were his admirers.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. The appropriately named Bold Trouble, for all of his promising bloodlines, speed, tall stature, and beautiful golden coat, was nothing but trouble. Ever since her father had brought the colt home from the Keeneland Auction as a yearling, he had wrecked havoc. Now at two years old, the age when most racehorses begin their careers, Trouble was nowhere near ready for his first race. The horse was headstrong and almost impossible to ride, his morning workouts becoming the favorite pastime of many horsemen based out of Meryton Downs, who no doubt felt safer on the sidelines than on the track with Bold Trouble during his workouts. He did as he pleased, bolting when he was told to halt, refusing to load in the practice gate, and just plain throwing his rider whenever he felt like it. Elizabeth had lost count of how many riders her father had gone through after finally giving up and realizing that his own daughter was the best for the job. She knew how guilty her dad felt every time he gave her a leg up onto the Trouble's back, but their family's hopes rested on this unraced horse. Her father thought he was the horse he had spent all his life waiting for.

As they reached the half mile pole at a fast trot, Elizabeth crouched low over Trouble's neck and clicked her tongue as she gave him more rein. The colt tossed his head and eagerly broke into a canter and then ground eating gallop. Elizabeth smiled into the horse's mane. So far, though not the perfect gentleman, Trouble had been controllable and had listened to her cues, allowing her to ease her tight hold on the reins and simply enjoy the colt's huge stride.

Suddenly near the mile marker, the reins slid through her hands as Trouble grabbed the bit in his teeth and swerved toward the outside of the track, running full speed. While desperately tugging on the reins, Elizabeth looked up to see another horse and rider slowly galloping toward them on the outside track reserved for horses doing slower workouts. She tried to shout out to them, but her voice was drowned out by pounding hooves as Trouble surged on. As panic seized her, Elizabeth could only pray that the oncoming rider would soon realize that her horse was running wild. Her prayers were soon answered, yet as the other rider tried to frantically steer his mount out of the way, his own bay horse suddenly reared. Mere feet away from the bay, Elizabeth mustered up all her strength and yanked Trouble's reins to the left causing the colt to lose balance.

The last thing Elizabeth remembered was hearing a man's angry shout as she flew over Trouble's neck and hit the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth tried to open her eyes at the sound of her name, but dirt and dust covered her face, preventing her from opening her eyes. With a groan, she lifted her right hand and wiped her faced with her sleeve. As she opened her eyes, worried faces crowded her line of vision and her father knelt by her side.

"Has someone called 911? We need to get her off the track."

"Give her some room to breathe!"

"Did you see? From a gallop to a dead stop!"

Voices swirled in her head as she closed her eyes and laid her head back on the ground, pain now surging through every muscle in her body. Through all the voices she heard a man furiously yelling from behind where her father knelt.

"Who the hell let her on the track! Someone as inexperienced and careless as that should never be allowed on a horse, much less a valuable thoroughbred. Kids like her should stick to schooling ponies."

The vehement tone in the man's voice caused Elizabeth to wince. She sat up in order to protest his claim, but her breath caught in her throat. The wind had been knocked out of her. Before she was pushed back down by a concerned Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth caught sight of two young men standing a few feet away. The one who she had heard insult her had his back to her, one hand running furiously through his dark brown hair and the other tapping his tall black boot with his riding crop. The blond man who was the recipient to the ranting was facing Elizabeth and caught her eye as she sat up.

"She's up! Quiet down. I think she can hear you," The blond man whispered.

Before the brown haired man could turn around, Elizabeth laid back on the dirt and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Liz, do you think you broke anything?" Her father's voice brought her back to reality as she shook her head and suddenly she remembered the horse.

"Trouble?"

"He's fine. Got more of a workout than I was hoping for, but an outrider grabbed him. The other horse and rider are fine too," he reassured her.

Carefully she was picked up and placed on her feet. Her head slowly cleared and she took deep breaths trying to ease the pain that shot through her body. Down the track, she could see an outrider on a paint pony leading Trouble back down the track. The outrider had a death grip on the colt's bridle as he tried repeatedly to shy away. A light sweat glistened on the colt's coat, but other than that he appeared unharmed. As he was lead past, Trouble snorted, arching his neck at the sight of the group surrounding Elizabeth as if to say, _See what I can do? _Elizabeth rolled her eyes. The colt sure had nerve.

"Elizabeth Marie! In all my years! Oh, Mr. Bennet!" Elizabeth winced, knowing it had been too much to ask that her mother had somehow missed the whole fiasco. She turned her head just in time to see her mother barrel past the outrider and Bold Trouble as they left the gap, spooking the colt in the process.

Fanny Bennet had never been one for the sport of horseracing, but, by God, did she love the glitz and glamour that came along with the high stakes races. Rumor had it that as a young girl, she had set her sights on a rich owner who her father had occasionally trained a thoroughbred or two for up at the big tracks in Kentucky. However, when he failed to propose, she settled on Thomas Bennet of Longbourn Farm, a small training and breeding operation based in Hertfordshire, just outside of Lexington, Kentucky. Though not a day over twenty-two when they married, Thomas was already an accomplished horseman, having grown up in the horseracing business. He had worked his way up in the horse world, working first as a hot walker, then groom, then exercise rider, until he had become a jockey at seventeen. At nineteen, he had outgrown the appropriate height and weight to book rides in races and skipped college to work for his father as an assistant trainer for their small racing operation. After the death of his father, Thomas inherited the family farm, Longbourn, and threw everything he had into improvements for the facility. The farm's training track was resurfaced and a turf course was added, an addition to the training barn was built, and a breeding barn was constructed. Soon the money started rolling in as Thomas sold his father's old claiming horses and other owners, charmed by his personal and small business approach, hired Thomas to board and train their horses.

The prosperous and close knit environment of Longbourn Farm was exactly what Thomas had wanted for his family. He and Fanny had had five daughters; Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, all very pretty girls. Though he had hoped for a son to carry on in the racing business, Thomas soon found a kindred soul in Elizabeth, his second eldest. From the day she turned two, when Thomas had first set her atop her first pony and her eyes had lit up in joy, he knew she had the same passion for horses that he possessed. At that point it hadn't mattered that Jane and later Mary, Kitty, and Lydia had no interest in racing. Thomas had Elizabeth.

Through the years, Thomas indulged Elizabeth in her eagerness to become involved in horse racing. He took her to races, auctions, and meetings, allowing her to make decisions in the training, buying, and breeding of their horses. At thirteen, she sold her flashy hunter/jumper pony and declared to her father that she no longer wanted to ride in shows, but rather wanted to ride thoroughbreds. The next day, he awoke her first thing in the morning and put her atop his gentlest thoroughbred and let her gallop around the track. The day she turned sixteen Elizabeth passed her jockey test, despite her mother's protests and received her license to ride in races. Now at twenty-one, Elizabeth had just earned the title of leading rider at Meryton Downs. Though Elizabeth rode most of his horses and had won countless races for him, Thomas knew in his heart that he and Longbourn were holding her back. The girl was a natural with horses and her riding skills, even at such a young age, outshone many veteran jockeys. Thomas knew that if he had better quality horses or even just one graded winner, he could get Elizabeth in the spotlight and have her riding in big time races at big time tracks such as Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and Belmont Park. That's why he had finally agreed to have her work with Bold Trouble, but now he was beginning to regret his decision.

--

Once she was back at the barn, Elizabeth sat on a hall bale in the shed row, holding an icepack to her right shoulder. She closed her eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache, as her mother stalked up and down the cement aisle, continuing her rant from the track.

"I don't know why your father continues to put you on that horse! He has plenty of men working for him, so why not let one of them break their neck? That horse has been nothing but a waste of money and time since the day you two brought him home! Really, if your father had any business sense we wouldn't be stuck racing at this dump of a track. Instead he's resorted to owning wild horses and letting his own daughter work in the stables!"

"Really Fanny, next time you decide to complain about how I conduct my own business affairs, please take the time to step out of the barn. You're disturbing my clients," said Mr. Bennet as he emerged from the stall behind Mrs. Bennet, leading a grey filly and motioning with his free hand down the barn.

Mrs. Bennet spun around, no doubt dreading finding one of Mr. Bennet's more prominent owners, but only a few horses had poked their heads out of their stalls, curiously staring at them from down the aisle.

"It probably wouldn't be wise to insult Meryton Downs either, dear. I thought you found great pleasure in the fact that not only were you married to its leading trainer, but had given birth to its leading rider as well," he continued with a wink at Elizabeth, "Plus dear, if Meryton was such a dump, I doubt _such _an establishment as Netherfield Inc. would rent out stalls here."

Though his comment was meant to calm Mrs. Bennet, it only served to fuel her fury. She turned back to Elizabeth. "Out of all the riders you could have chosen to run into out there, you run into Mr. Bingley's friend! And who do you presume his friend is!?"

Elizabeth shrugged. She knew Charles Bingley was the owner of a couple big stakes horses, most notably a gelding named Descout, who won of the Santa Anita Handicap the year before and had rented out a barn at Meryton for training purposes. Racing under the name of Netherfield Inc., Bingley had the reputation as a big spender at auctions and for hiring first rate trainers. The widely accepted belief, from what Elizabeth could gather, was that he, though a little flamboyant, was an all around nice guy.

When Elizabeth failed to answer, her mother took the liberty. "Mr. Darcy! You do realize who he is don't you!? Mr. Darcy of Pemberly Farm!"

Elizabeth groaned as she laid her head against the barn wall. As far as she was concerned the day couldn't get any worse. The two men she had overheard earlier must have been Bingley and Darcy. Not only had she made a fool out of herself in front of everyone at Meryton Downs, was bruised from head to toe, and made her mother angry, but she had also somehow managed to almost kill the most prominent and successful name in horseracing.


	3. Chapter 3

"Really Darcy, he's fine. I just had my vet look over him."

William Darcy, looked back at his friend after running his hand down his horse's leg, checking for any stiffness or soreness. "I know. I just wanted to double check him," he said as he stood up and gave the stallion a pat on the neck. "Old Apollo here deserves it."

"Yes, Darcy. Well, once you're finished would you mind coming to the airport with me? Caroline comes in this evening and I don't want to be late."

Will looked up again, about to tell Charles off but one look at his friend's face told him that Charles would need his support and Will prided himself in being a loyal friend. "Alright, so long as I can drive."

"Deal," Charles shot him a giant smile then turned around and headed down the barn aisle, in search of more sociable company.

Will sighed and leaned against the stall wall, surveying Apollo who was busy eating from his hay net. The dark bay stallion was by far Will's favorite horse. Bred and born at Will's main farm, Pemberly, in Kentucky, Apollo was out of the last crop of Pemberly's most famous sire, Roman Victory. The colt had shown much promise as a young two-year old and Will had decided to personally take over his training, like he did with most of Pemberly's best horses. The colt had lived up to the farm's expectations, winning the Breeder's Cup Juvenile and snatching the Eclipse Award for Best 2-Year Old Colt. At the start of his three-year old season, Apollo was considered a favorite for the Kentucky Derby until he broke his front cannon bone in his final prep race. The Derby was out of the question then, and Apollo received surgery and was quickly sent back to Pemberly to recover and possibly start a new career at stud. However, the colt recovered much more quickly than expected and Will entertained thoughts of him returning to the track sometime during his late four-year old season. That's why Apollo was one of the three horses Will had brought to Meryton. Apollo would need much conditioning and though he could do that at any of the much nicer tracks, Meryton Downs offered an escape from the press who would surely have a field day over Apollo's attempted comeback. Will hoped that no one would even recognize Apollo, allowing him to train the horse without interruption.

When that morning, another horse had almost collided with Apollo during his workout, Will had thought Apollo's career would be over before it even resumed. Maybe he had overreacted a little bit, accidents happened all the time, especially with young, high-strung horses, but the girl should have had more control. A horse like that needed a strong man riding him, not some high school kid.

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An hour later, Will found himself driving to the airport with Charles in order to pick up his sister, Caroline, who was flying in from New York City.

"We should have driven my car. What if she doesn't recognize the truck?" Charles complained as they reached the airport entrance.

"It has Pemberly's logo on both sides. Are you telling me she won't recognize that?" Will gave Charles a smug look.

Everyone knew that Caroline Bingley's ambition was to marry William Darcy and everyone knew that William Darcy would have had nothing to do with Caroline Bingley if it wasn't for her brother, Charles, his best friend. Will had spent the greater part of his time with Caroline during the past couple years trying to convince her that he was _not _attracted to her and that he would _never _marry her. The woman was conniving, high maintenance, and just plain intolerable. To make matters worse, she had a job in television and Will hated television. There was a reason Will had chosen to drive his Pemberly truck and not Charles's luxurious SUV. Caroline hated anything dirty and, well, trucks were not the most fashionable modes of transportation among the high society in New York. Will hated to admit it, but he enjoyed every chance he got in torturing Caroline. She would obviously be torn between riding in something so unfashionable and pleasing him.

As they pulled to a stop in front of the entrance, Will looked at Charles expectantly. "Well, are you going to get out and find her or not?"

"You don't want to?"

"I'm driving."

"We can park and go in together."

"She's your sister."

Charles reluctantly got out of the car, but he didn't even have to walk to the doors before both men heard a shrill voice.

"CHARLES! You're late!"

Will sighed; maybe Meryton Downs hadn't been such a great idea.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Will found himself sitting in between Caroline and Charles in their private grandstand box. Caroline was leaning against the armrest of her chair, practically sitting on Will's lap.

"So what do you think of my horse, Will? Is she going to win?"

Will turned to Caroline to see a smirk on her face. A month ago Charles had asked Will to help him buy a horse for Caroline's birthday. Frankly, Will didn't think that Caroline should be anywhere around an expensive thoroughbred, but after Charles said that the horse would stay under his watch and in his barn he thought it was an overall good idea. Will had then mentioned to Charles that he had a nice two-year old filly that he was considering selling with decent bloodlines and if Charles agreed not to let Caroline ride her, he would get a good deal on her. Charles had readily agreed and bought the filly immediately. Today would be her first race.

"Anything can happen in a race, Caroline."

"Don't be silly. You bred her. Of course she is going to win."

Will knew he wasn't getting out of this one, so he quickly flipped through his program.

"There Caroline, it says Abigail Bird is the 5-1 favorite. Everyone else thinks she's going to win."

Caroline seemed to be satisfied with that answer and was about to make some other comment when Will decided to divert her by asking Charles about his jockey selection. Apparently Caroline had something to say about that too.

"Oh! Charles got the leading rider at Meryton! I wanted to bring someone more famous to ride her, but Charles said that we shouldn't make so much fuss over a maiden race. Apparently, he met the jockey's sister yesterday who said that he was free for this race and said that her brother would be interested in taking the mount."

"Well, the jockey isn't exactly a…" Charles tried to but in, but Darcy was quicker.

"Shouldn't we make our way down to the paddock? It's almost time for the horses to be saddled." Will knew that Caroline wouldn't go down to the paddock. She had on a new dress and couldn't afford to get it the slightest bit dirty.

Charles nodded and the two men quickly made their way down to the paddock where the horses were to be saddled and mounted.

When they reached Abigail Bird, the jockey Charles had hired was already there dressed in Netherfield, Inc's gold and red silks. His back was to them, patting the filly's neck and talking to the groom who was saddling her.

The jockey suddenly turned around, sensing their arrival and Will was surprised to see that it was actually a woman.

"You must be Elizabeth Bennet?" asked Charles as he stuck his hand out for the girl to shake, "I'm so glad we could get you on such short notice."

As Will stood silently to Charles's left, he wondered why the girl looked so familiar. She was obviously short, like any jockey should be, but she held her self well, standing squarely on both feet. Her thick, dark brown hair was in a single braid that she had resting on her left shoulder. Will's eyes moved to examine her face. She had a youthful face, with a light dusting of freckles across her short nose and dimples when we smiled. However it was not until she rested her eyes on Will that he found anything striking about her. They were a bright green, with flecks of gold that caught the sunlight and sparkled; the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

"Elizabeth, this is my good friend, Will Darcy. Uh…you two have sort of met already."

It was then that Will realized where he had seen her before, "So you're the girl who almost let that colt run over my horse," it sounded a lot harsher than he had meant and he almost flinched when the girl's eyes narrowed, the sparkles gone.

"And you're the man who insulted my riding," she shot back, "You're also the one who apparently disregarded the note on the morning workout board, which I'm guessing you didn't read."

Will had to admit, he hadn't bother to read the board that morning and was about to shoot something back, when Charles interrupted, sensing that things were off to a bad start.

"How's Jane? I haven't seen her around since I met her."

Elizabeth gave one last cool look at Will then turned back to Charles, smiling with warmth, "Oh, once you get to know Jane, you'll find out that she's always busy. She said she should be around today though, my father has one in the 6th race."

"I must say hello then!"

Before Charles could say anything more, the call for rider's up was announced. The groom started to lead Abigail Bird around the paddock and Charles gave Elizabeth a quick leg up and she gracefully landed in the saddle. When she turned to face Charles, Will saw that her countenance had changed, she was all business.

"Any instructions?"

"You know it's her first race, but I'm guessing she'll be slow out of the gate. I'd say wait at the back before the homestretch, but do whatever you feel she's up to."

Elizabeth nodded and Charles gave the chestnut filly a light pat as the groom led her toward the track.

"Nice girl, very professional," Charles commented, looking at Will "I hear she has a way with horses, especially problem ones."

Will just thoughtfully watched the horse and jockey until they were out of sight, deciding not to say anything further about her until the race was over.

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Elizabeth fumed as she and Abigail made their way onto the track. That man was insufferable, insulting her like that in front of a client, in front of a big client. Riding for Netherfield, Inc. could be her big break and Will Darcy had tried to ruin it. Will Darcy of Pemberly Farm, she grimaced, maybe she shouldn't have snapped at him.

"Rich, pompous ass," she muttered as she signaled the filly to canter, "Guess I'll never get hired by him."

As they neared the starting gate and an outrider grabbed Abigail Bird's bridle, Elizabeth smiled and soon thoughts of the race pushed thoughts of Will Darcy out of her mind. So far the filly had been extremely easy to handle and hadn't even given the crowd in the grandstand a second look. If the she acted like this in the race, perhaps they would have a very good chance of winning.

It was their turn to load, and a gate attendant led them into the fifth slot. There Elizabeth and Abigail Bird waited quietly for the other horses to load and the race to start.

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"Charles, is that a woman on Abby? I thought you said you had the best rider at Meryton," Caroline was using her binoculars to watch the horses being loaded.

"Yes, Caroline. That's Elizabeth Bennet, leading rider at Meryton for the past three years. She comes highly recommended."

Caroline pouted, but didn't say anything further.

The announcer's voice came over the speakers, "They're in the gate," a second's pause, "AND THEY'RE OFF!"

From what Will saw, all the horses broke sharply. A few seconds later he spotted the gold and red silks Elizabeth was wearing. They were at the back of the pack, second to last with ten horses in front of them.

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No jockey liked being behind a wall of horses, but Elizabeth stayed calm. Charles had been right, the filly had made a good, but slow start. Hopefully, her speed would kick in at the end but until then they had to keep a good position. Elizabeth moved up beside the horse in front of them, but soon had to check her filly as another horse bared over in their path. The half mile pole flashed by and Elizabeth knew that she had to formulate a plan; either go for the inside rail or swing to the outside of the field. Elizabeth went for the inside. She expertly guided in between two bays and asked for a little speed from Abigail Bird who responded immediately. They then moved to the inside only to be blocked as another horse moved in front of them. Elizabeth didn't panic, knowing that she still had a lot of horse underneath her. Approaching the quarter pole, there was a slight opening in between horses to her right which she quickly steered toward. They were in between horses again and with a quick flick of her whip, Abegail accelerated and they were in the open. Now only one horse was in front of them, about two lengths up. Elizabeth asked the filly for everything she had and Abegail responded, finding another gear as they bounded toward the wire. They pulled up alongside the last horse, running neck and neck. In the last few strides, they passed the other horse at the wire.

Elizabeth stood up in her stirrups, all smiles, and gave Abigail Bird a good pat as the filly slowed to a light canter. _Take that Mr. Darcy._

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Will Darcy had watched the last half of the race in awe. He had been wrong. Elizabeth Bennet was a fantastic jockey, probably had potential to be one of the best. She had sat calmly until the last possible moment and then expertly weaved through the field to win by a neck. It took a good jockey to win, but a great jockey got his or her mount through the race without asking to much of the horse and Abigail Bird looked as fresh as ever, tossing her head about as they trotted back to the gap.

Charles, Caroline, and Will quickly made their way to the winner's circle to meet horse and rider. Caroline gloated and mentioned that Abigail Bird was Netherfield's next champion, but was promptly ignored by Charles and Will. It took more than one race to make a horse a champion.

They reached the circle where Abegail Bird and Elizabeth were waiting to take the winner's picture.

"Elizabeth! Fantastic race! You must ride for us in the next one," Charles shook Elizabeth's hand vigorously.

Elizabeth smiled down at Charles, "Oh, it was my pleasure Mr. Bingley. It was all Abigail; she's a very nice filly…"

Elizabeth was interrupted by a tall woman appearing at Charles's side.

"Oh this is my sister Caroline, Elizabeth, she actually is the rightful owner of the horse."

Elizabeth smiled and reached down to shake Caroline's hand, but Caroline took one look at the dust covered, rough outstretched hand and sniffed, "Pleasure," she said without raising her own.

Elizabeth frowned and quickly retracted her hand and Will cringed at Caroline's bad manners. This girl had won for Caroline and she would hardly acknowledge her.

After some quick rearranging, the photo was taken and Elizabeth jumped to the ground from the filly's back. Charles thanked her again and said he would be giving her a call soon then he and Caroline started walking to back to their box. Will stood there watching Elizabeth unbuckle the girth of the saddle and slide it off the horse's back. Feeling Will's eyes on her, Elizabeth turned around with the saddle on her arm, looked at Will and raised an eyebrow. A small smile crept onto her face and then she turned around and marched back toward the jockey locker rooms without once looking back. Will couldn't help but grin at her retreating back.


	5. Chapter 5

After the race, Elizabeth quickly showered in the jockey locker room. Several jockeys and agents congratulated her when she entered the common room.

"Nice one, Lizzy. Looks like you got yourself a nice filly," one of the jockeys chimed.

"Thought I had you blocked there," Bernie, another jockey in the race, claimed as he patted her on the back

"Think you can put in a good word for me over there at Netherfield?" an apprentice jockey yelled from across the room.

Elizabeth just shook her head and smiled on her way out the door. She would have to remember to thank Jane for getting her the Netherfield ride. Jane could be very persuasive and her stunning looks couldn't have hurt either.

She didn't think that she would be able to make it up to her parent's box for the next race, so Elizabeth watched the last race from the rail. Her father's gelding came in third and as she made her way to the stables to help with the after race day chores, she saw Jane making her way in that direction.

"Lizzy! I saw the whole race! I just talked to Charles Bingley, he was extremely excited. Isn't he nice?" Jane exclaimed as soon as her sister was within earshot.

"Yes, much nicer than your average owner," Elizabeth grinned observing her beautiful sister as Jane blushed in return. Jane was the classic beauty of the family. With her long, light blond hair and pale skin, Jane was as fair as Elizabeth was dark. Though the two sisters shared similar facial features, Jane was about eight inches taller, with long slender legs that her short, light green sundress showed off. It was no surprise that Jane was her mother's pride and joy. Out of her two daughters finished with school, it was Jane who had also picked a suitable career for a woman, but Elizabeth thought that Jane's job as a middle school teacher fit her personality perfectly, just like her job as a jockey fit hers.

The two sisters then made their way to their father's barn where they found Mr. Bennet checking over Colonel Jackson, the horse who had just run.

"He ran well, Dad," Elizabeth remarked as she patted the light bay gelding on the nose.

"Better that I had hoped," Mr Bennet commented as he finished checking Jackson's hooves and signaled for the groom to take him back to his stall, "I think he might have another win in him."

Elizabeth and Jane followed their father back to his office and after a few minutes of chit chatting, Jane mentioned that she still had some school papers to grade for the next day.

"Oh, Lizzy," she said as she rose from her seat, "Charles said that his sister, Caroline, is throwing a small dinner party at a local restaurant tonight and invited us to come. I'll pick you up at 8 so we can go together?" Elizabeth had no time to even respond before Jane said, "Great!" and was out the door.

"Yeah, great," Elizabeth groaned as she leaning back against her chair, not at all looking forward to spending a night with Charles's stuck up sister and worse, possibly his stuck up friend."

Mr. Bennet viewed his daughter sympathetically, "It's a part of the business, dear."

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Elizabeth heard a knock on her door at exactly eight o'clock and let in Jane, who looked as beautiful as ever in a knee length, dark blue cocktail dress.

"Oh, Lizzy! You're still not dressed!" she exclaimed, motioning to the bathrobe she was still wearing.

"I know, but you never told me what restaurant we were going to," Elizabeth complained.

"El Toreador, that nice Spanish place downtown," Jane responded, "Here I'll pick you out something."

Fifteen minutes later they were pulling out of Elizabeth's driveway. It had taken Jane approximately ten minutes to pick Elizabeth out a black skirt and pretty red tank top to wear, while it had taken Elizabeth less than five minutes to change.

"You know, Lizzy, we should go shopping next weekend. You're going to need nice things to wear if you keep on winning."

"But, Jane, I ride horses for a living, I'm not a model. No one cares what I look like as long as I get their horse across the wire first," she looked over at Jane suspiciously, "Did Mom put you up to this?"

"No, Lizzy," Jane laughed, "but there's nothing wrong with looking nice and professional, plus it might get mom off your back a little," she added.

Everyone was already seated when Elizabeth and Jane arrived at the restaurant. Charles immediately stood up and helped Jane into the chair next to him and then pulled out a chair for Elizabeth, telling both women how nice they looked.

Elizabeth hardly heard was he was saying as she looked up and found herself sitting across from Will Darcy. _Darn it_, she thought to herself. She felt his eyes on her and when she looked up to meet them, he hastily turned away to address something Caroline had said to him. Seeing that Jane was already engrossed in conversation with Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth took her time to observe the guests at the table. Besides Charles, Caroline and Mr. Darcy, there was another couple. Charles had introduced them as Louise and Harry Hurst, his sister and brother-in-law. Elizabeth found them to look immensely boring so, she turned her attention back to Will Darcy, for inexplicably she found him the most interesting of the party. He was younger than she thought he would be, maybe only four or five years older than herself. He had strong facial features that fit his tanned face and dark brown, almost black hair. It was a shame he was such an ass because he was an extremely attractive man. She smiled to herself, _an extremely attractive man a barn full of blue blooded horses. _ Something seemed odd about him, though, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"So Elizabeth, when did you start riding races?" Charles said loudly from across the table, trying to speak over Caroline who was laughing at something Darcy had said.

Elizabeth startled by the question, quickly turned to Charles, "When I was sixteen, almost seven years ago." Elizabeth's eyes flitted back to Darcy who had immediately focused his attention from Caroline to her and she squirmed in her seat. That man could be so unnerving.

Caroline, not at all happy that Darcy's attention was focused on Elizabeth; spoke up, "A rather odd occupation for a girl. Don't you think? Skipping college to ride horses around a track just seems rather….crude."

"Actually Caroline, Lizzy has a degree." Jane said matter-of-factly, "she graduated last year from University of Kentucky with a degree in equine business and is helping our father with training and breeding. She's an all around horsewoman."

"Really, Elizabeth? I had no idea you were into breeding!" Charles exclaimed, "I'm thinking about going into breeding myself. Maybe you would like to help me and Darcy look at a couple of stallions I've been considering for my mares? We could always use another opinion."

Elizabeth smiled, wondering how Charles Bingley could be so nice when his sister and friend were such snobs, "I'd love to."

Caroline, seeing that this topic was going nowhere in her favor, asked in a sweet voice, "So Eliza, what do you think of Abby? Charles said she has the potential to be Netherfield's next champion. She'll probably ship up to Saratoga for a stakes race in another month or so. Maybe Charles will let you exercise ride her until then for the next jockey."

Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She would have liked nothing more than to toss the contents of her wine glass on Caroline's white sweater, but she knew she would have to stay civil if she was to be considered by Charles for any more rides. She knew that this woman was intentionally trying to underhandedly insult her, but she had no idea why. "Abigail Bird is a very nice horse. I hope she does well at Saratoga. As for her being a champion, it is still too soon to tell," Elizabeth smiled at Caroline, determined not to make a fool of herself, which was surly Caroline's aim.

"Oh I think Abigail Bird is very much on her way to becoming a champion. She has an outstanding pedigree! What do you think Will?" Caroline turned to Mr. Darcy.

Will looked calmly from Caroline to Elizabeth and frowned, "Yes a champion must have the pedigree, but he or she must have the perfect conformation, speed and stamina on the track, intelligence, the ability to best worthy competition and inspire awe in the crowd."

"Yes, but she won her first race!" Caroline wined.

"Against who? All of those fillies were maidens. Most of them will run in claimers for the rest of their careers," Will pointed out.

Elizabeth then spoke up, "You sure have very specific guidelines for what kind of horse fits the role, Mr. Darcy. I can only think of one or two horses in the past century that would fit into what you call a champion."

Caroline then turned to Elizabeth, "Eliza, what do you think classifies a horse as a champion then?"

Everyone's eyes focused on Elizabeth.

"Heart," she stated simply.

"Heart?" asked Mr. Darcy, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, a thoroughbred, above all must have the will to win. I have seen horses with the finest breeding, perfect conformation, the grandest presence, step onto the track and not be able to run a lick and then I have seen others who some would say shouldn't even be allowed in a race because of their breeding or small stature who go on to be fantastic stakes horses," Elizabeth then looked at Mr. Darcy and said sweetly, "What about that colt of yours two years ago, Mr. Darcy? His name was Time Limit, I think? He was supposed to be something wasn't he? All the newspapers made a big hype about him, talking about how he was the nest Secretariat. Tell me, did he ever even break his maiden?"

Mr. Darcy's eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything, Caroline spoke up.

"You are way too harsh on Will, Eliza. Certainly you must know that he has more stakes horses right now than anyone in the United States. Much more than your father has, I assume?"

At that point, the waiter came and asked if anyone would like desert, ending the tense conversation to the relief of the majority of the table.

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It was still relatively early when everyone left the restaurant and, Charles, obviously eager to spend more time with Jane, asked if anyone would like to get some drinks at a local bar. Everyone but Elizabeth and Will agreed, as both had to be at the track early the next morning.

As everyone walked to their respective cars, Jane turned to Elizabeth, handing her the keys, "I'll just get a ride home from Charles and pick the car up tomorrow," she paused and then smiled shyly, "I really like him, Lizzy."

Elizabeth grinned as Jane, "Well, you've gone out with less worthy guys in the past. Have fun, Jane. You deserve it."

The two sisters hugged and then parted ways.


End file.
